Photography update 9th July 2017

So it's been a while since I last sent out an update, this mainly due to other commitments, but in between everything I've still been doing photography related stuff.

I've also been threatening to change the format of these updates from emails to a more organised newsletter format. This is the first attempt at this, so lets see how it goes.

Hedgehog

I guess its important to say that we've not had any activity on the hoglet front. Its become evident that we are visited by a solitary hedgehog who has partly taken up residence here.

As such we keep the food and water around the hedgehog house topped up for when it does visit.

We have noticed via some of the shots captured on the bush cam' that it is active for some daylight hours too.

Click on the images below for larger versions.

We also noticed that it appears to have a pet slug as a friend. The photo to the left is part of a series of shots where the 'hog was drinking from the water container at the same time as a slug was there. We thought the slug would get eaten, but the 'hog chose to leave it alone. Obviously we're feeding the 'hog too much, or it was feeling generous.

I'm conscious I've not been playing with the remote camera trapping PIR sensor of late, so based on the fact our hedgehog seems to be active sometimes during daylight hours, I've set up my old Canon 600D and the Camptraptions PIR sensor outside of its house.

With the sensor firing the beam across the entrance to the house (it's mounted gingerly above the entrance), hopefully I should be able to get some 'face on' shots taken from the 600D. It's all a bit of an experiment so far, so watch this space for an update.

Outside of my comfort zone

As some of you might know, last weekend I was able to be a photographer for the company I work for at one of the Great Run events. This one was at the Olympic Park in London, and it was quite an experience.

And a (very) small sample of photos I took at the event can be found clicking here...

Normal service

With all that done and dusted, I've only managed to get out briefly to do some 'normal' wildlife photography. A combination of exceedingly hot weather making it unbearable to be out, and not too much free time has meant not many photos captured.

That said, a trip to Rooksbury Mill the other day resulted in the two shots below. I was looking for water voles, but didn't see any despite seeing where they have been busy eating.

Nobel Moorhen

Slumber on the river bank

Wrist strap

Finally, I've been looking for a way of anchoring the 1DX to my wrist that wasn't cumbersome or overly costly.

To this end I have invested the princely sum of £25.00 on the Peak Design wrist cuff. It was easy to fit and is lightweight enough to wear. The only reason it is there is just in case the camera slips from my hand when using it, or I trip or some other unplanned activity that could result in a camera/floor interface moment.

As pointed out to me, given the weight of the 1DX with the 100-400mm Canon lens on it, that's likely to snap my wrist should it drop, but if nothing else it could slow its journey to the ground resulting in a smaller impact. :)

Peak Design wrist cuff

That's it for now. I'd be keen on your feedback to this format of newsletter: feel free to send me a comment via the 'Contact' link at the top of the page.